Of Heroes and Dark Lords
by krm3DeeDee
Summary: This is a drabble that follows three pairs of heroes and dark lords and the three different relationships between each other. Slightly slashy. ONESHOT.


**Of Heroes and Dark Lords**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter. I am just a fan, spreading her love for this wonderful world through stories that, I hope, will please other fans just like me.

This story is drabble-ish, and although you will definitely recognize the first two pairings of heroes and dark lords, please keep your mind open on the symbolism rather than the character as you know him. This is a oneshot; there will be no sequels. Enjoy!

**~/~**

The first Hero is a teacher; the blue, knowing eyes watch his opponent, wand trembling slightly in his hand. He thought he had found the resolve to fight his once best friend, but nothing prepares one for the real experience.

The first Dark Lord didn't think this day would come; his blue eyes watch the only person he had ever considered his equal from the other side of the street, and he knows he can no longer hold on to the ghosts of his past.

They duel, each putting their best into this, for they know they are battling for more than just the future of the Wizarding World. More than politics, Purebloods and Muggleborns, Durmstrang and Hogwarts.

They duel like this is their last conversation, because it is.

Because one of them is going to die tonight.

No words are needed. They run about and they strategize, but no one is able to maintain advantage for too long. The spells are grand, stunning, not because they feel the need to show off, but because both think it would be an insult to the other if they were to fight below their level. They burn all restraint and place everything they are in this last fight. They are truly equals, in all sense.

The only witnesses hide behind barricaded and spelled doors, watching though holes and broken windows, breath caught in the spectacle. One blue-eyed teenager also watches, awed, and he learns a little about good and evil, but mostly about power.

Eventually, both fall to their knees, exhausted, and the Hero manages to win the duel, barely. He watches the Dark Lord be taken away to prison, flanked by the best Aurors the Department has to offer.

He clutches the foreign wand in his hand, the wand that will forever be his only reminder of his former best friend, while his eyes are crying tears of blood.

He returns to the New World feeling a hundred years older than he is, and he decides to seek happiness in his students' smiles. That is all he has left.

**~/~**

The second Hero is a little boy. He feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, because a cruel prophecy made him the target of the cruelest Dark Lord of the century. His green eyes speak of pain, an unhappy childhood, and hope, as he surrounds himself with friends.

The second Dark Lord is a monster. His red eyes no longer remind anyone of the brilliant blue-eyed boy that charmed everyone in school. He has rid himself of his past a long time ago. But the past comes cruelly back to him in the form of his obsession, one green-eyed hero, who, coincidentally enough or not, resembles him more than he likes to admit.

The Hero and the Dark Lord clash several times on the battlefield, but the Dark Lord is unable to finish him off, as Lady Luck seems to always be on the boy's side. He poisons the boy's mind, sends illusions, kills his guardians, hoping to weaken him, and he always attacks, never planning much, for insane as he is, he can no longer see much around him.

He punishes his servants cruelly for the minutest of mistakes and waits, as the Wizarding World trembles in fear.

The Hero has grown up. At the tender age of seventeen, he is already an adult. And he faces the Dark Lord one last time, on the battlefield, which cruelly enough, turns out to be the one place they both loved the most. The Wizarding School, Hogwarts.

Red eyes lock onto green and the battle begins. Students and teachers, Aurors and Dark Wizards alike fall, so small in death. Tears mingle with blood, and the magical ground cries. They sky would cry too, but it cannot bear to look down at the cruelest form of desecration a school ever had to endure: the place for learning has became the place of Death.

And Luck once again sides with the Hero. With one final slash across the Dark Lord's chest, the duel is over. He watches as the light leaves the Dark Lord's eyes and the brilliant, menacing red eyes turn dull. He finally looks at the battlefield and he lets himself cry. This victory's price was too high.

There is blood on his hands. He can never forget it, no matter how much his blue-eyed teacher tries to help. He leaves, saying he needs time to rest and think and recover, and everyone understands. The Hero saved the world, now it is their time to restore it.

The teacher last sees his student drinking Firewhisky in a bar, but says nothing. He remembers his own fight, and how lost he was after it, and he thinks that it is not his place to advise or criticize his student now. He is sure that, given enough time, his prized student will return to the friends he left behind, and he will slowly but surely reintegrate in the New World.

But the Hero's nights are plagued with visions of red eyes, and he remembers his first murder in great detail. "You enjoyed it, boy. You and I are not so different after all…" the ethereal voice speaks to him. He thinks he has outlived his purpose and he looks at his blood-stained hands everyday; no matter how much he has washed and scrubbed his hands raw, it is still there. He can never forgive himself.

He finds answers to his problems in one of the more obscure books his godfather left behind. It is a borderline Dark book, but he is not afraid. As he sinks into it, he begins to gradually feel better.

**~/~**

The third Hero is also a student. His chocolate brown eyes sparkle with happiness, and the old teacher prepares him relentlessly for the fight that will surely come. This Hero knows no sorrow, but he knows the value of human lives, and his kindness is well-known across the school. He is powerful, yes, but he does not brag. He is funny, and he is appreciated by everyone – students and professors alike.

The third Dark Lord is a mystery. No one knows where he came from, or what he truly wants. He gathers followers, but not many choose to join him, considering the past. Those who do, however, are highly trained, smart and dangerous. They are also fiercely loyal to their Lord, which makes the old teacher wonder if this is not the most dangerous Dark Lord yet.

This Dark Lord uses strategy and political maneuvers and he gains ground fast. He promises retribution for the Dark families that were prosecuted after the fall of the last dark lord, and he strives to get the Dark Arts to the place where they once were. But he cuts down his opponents without mercy, and he haunts the new Hero like a hawk.

The teacher encounters the man a few times, and even battles him a few times, but learns nothing. The man's body is always fully covered in long dark cloaks, his shoulder-length dark hair is neatly tied at the back with an emerald ribbon, and his guarded yellow eyes glow with intelligence.

Sometimes he thinks he sees a flicker of recognition in the man's eyes, but it is gone immediately.

In the final battle, innocent brown eyes face glowing yellow eyes, in a fight that takes everyone's breath away. The teacher cannot be more proud of his student, who makes his way through the battlefield, relying on his speed and acrobatics to stop his enemies, restraining them without killing one. He knows that one cannot lift a wand if he doesn't accept that he can die by wand, in return. He sees humanity in everyone around him, and he wants it to keep living. His friends cheer him on, as the battle continues.

The Dark Lord smiles and bows at the young boy. The boy bows in return, and they start firing spells.

The Dark Lord fights with prudence, and his vast experience allows him to control the fight for the most part. The young Hero, however, is faster, very creative and puts his spirit into everything. Youth is a great advantage.

The duel rages on, and both sides stop to watch, silently supporting their Hero. Eventually, they both get farther away form the battlefield, and from the armies, without noticing.

Worried, the blue-eyed teacher follows.

It seems Luck is on the Hero's side, and he manages to injure the Dark Lord enough to prevent him from fighting further. Quickly arriving at the scene, the teacher congratulates his Hero and sends him back to his friends to carry the news of victory.

He takes one look at the Dark Lord, ready to get his answers, and his throat constricts when he watches the dull yellow eyes turn emerald green, and a warm look sent to the back of the retreating Hero. He easily recognizes the feeling – it is love. He recognizes his former student, and his eyes fill with tears.

"Why?" he whispers.

"When you kill someone, the blood never goes away"

"Harry -"

"You did a great job with the new kid. He will make this world a better place" the Dark Lord says. He pauses, and takes a deep breath. "Ever since I was young, I could understand people better by fighting with them instead of talking to them"

"Harry, stop speaking nonsense. You have masked yourself quite well, you can still return, you can still be saved!"

"Saved? Don't worry, professor. The kid already saved me"

And he stabs himself in the heart with an old basilisk fang.

The old Professor closes his dull green eyes and takes the dead body of his once most prized student back to Hogwarts, and he plans a private funeral for the one he had come to love as his grandson.

**~/~**

* * *

The third Hero returns to the battlefield, and he watches the bodies of the fallen warriors with pain in his heart. He lets tears fall freely, not knowing that he is crying tears of blood.

Everyone looks at him, at the leader he has become, wondering what to do next.

The Hero starts helping the wounded and wonders what's taking his old teacher so long.

As he carries a wounded 15-year-old girl to the improvised hospital, he considers becoming a teacher.

* * *

The old teacher stands in front of an old prison. He never came here after his victory, but now he feels the something that went missing. He trembles as his steps carry him to one of the most heavily-guarded cells, and he stops in front of the worn-down old man, whose bright blue eyes stayed the same.

"I've been waiting for you, hero. It sure took you long enough!" he greets his conqueror, and the old professor breaks down in front of the locked cell, hands reaching through the bars to touch his best friend, to make sure it is all real.

The old Dark Lord accepts the touch, and his clumsy hugs, and the heart-breaking sobs. He holds wrinkly arms in his own wrinkly arms, as the two best friends talk to each other through the night. Morning finds them sleeping peacefully, in a position that should be painful, but it is not. The first Hero then starts visiting the first Dark Lord everyday, as the new Teacher changes the world for the better. He has stepped down from his position at the school and at the ministry, and he has once again taken the role of a best friend. He is smiling truthfully again, for the first time in eighty years.

* * *

The green eyed Hero once again encounters a red-eyed Dark Lord, at the Crossroad between the world of the living and the World Beyond.

He smiles and offers his hand. The Dark Lord hesitates, but with one look in the Hero's eyes, he finds the power to finally move. He grasps the young arm and places a tender kiss on the inside of the boy's hand. He smiles sincerely for the first time, as he returns to his old self. He holds the boy's hand and walks side by side with his Savior.

They board the Train to Somewhere together.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

**Author notes: Doriana once again beta tested this and I uploaded the final version. Don't worry, there aren't any major changes, mostly she corrected my mistakes.  
**

**I'd like to hear your thoughts and theories on this - tell me if you liked it, tell me is you cried reading it just like I cried while I wrote it.  
**

**Have a great day!  
**


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